Naarm Calling

We're in Melbourne for a week playing DJ gigs

Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes, it takes completely different forms.

Kia ora. At present, I’m writing to you from Bulldog Studios in Saint Kilda, where Lucy is getting in a bit of practice on the CD3000s before we play four DJ gigs around Naarm / Melbourne and have a night off on Saturday to attend the Daytripper mini-festival.

Here’s what our schedule looks like:

Tue 03/06, Rooftop Bar, 7-11 PM

Wed 04/06, High Note, 8-10 PM

Thu 05/06, Hope Street Radio, 9-11 PM

Friday 06/06, Bodriggy Brewing Company, 5-9 PM

All of these are free entry events. I’ll be playing a mixture of street soul, R&B, New Jack Swing, Downtempo, IDM, house and techno from the islands of Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu. Lucy will be doing more of a UK bass thing, but hopefully she’ll spin some downtempo as well.

Here’s the Flyer for the High Note gig.

Outside of bar DJ gigs, I’ll also be heading up to Triple R Radio on Thursday to have a chat with Chris Gill from Northside Records during his weekly radio show, Get Down. We’ll be on air from 12-2 pm. More details here.

GADIGAL LAND:

Last week, we spent six days staying in Sydney’s Surry Hills suburb. While we were there, we went to the Sydney Opera House three times to see Jessica Pratt, Shackleton + Azu Tiwaline, and Pat Metheny play.

Jessica - backed by a band that included Matthew McDermott and Suzanne Kraft - was an absolute dream, just the kind of rhythmic lounge zone I’d love to see more folk artists explore.

Azu Tiwaline was a revelation. She played an incredibly restrained, percussive and bold live set. I think it was actually closer to a hybrid between a live set and a DJ set, but she really held us. Sadly, Sydney audiences take ambient interludes and intros as a cue to yap on the dancefloor. Shackelton was great as well, but after Azu’s performance, seeing him play live just wasn’t quite as special as it should have been. Much to ponder.

Pat Metheny was, unsurprisingly, the man. Over an hour and a half, he treated us to many funny anecdotes and an equal amount of beautiful guitar pieces played on about eight different guitars. It’s easy to see why Goldie loves him so much. Absolute journey music.

Sydney also gets points for its amazing cafes, pastries, art deco cinemas, and this sensational Moroccan spot where we had breakfast. I also had the smoothest gelato of my life in Darlinghurst. Again, much to ponder.

THE REST:

No new news on the writing front, but we’ll get back into that when we return to Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu next week.

FIN.